What caused Frodo to finally give in to the power of the Ring and claim it?

[Airetelluma]

Originally posted by Marileangorifurnimaluim
Once again I must rebel against the concept of the ring having a mind of its own, in this and other topics. If it were possible for the ring to have that much control it would simply march Frodo or any bearer straight to Mordor, hut-hut-hut, and that would be that.

I would tend to disagree. I believe that the One Ring has not a mind of its own, but a will of its own. It cannot think for itself, but it has an underlying desire to get back to its master, the Dark Lord, Sauron. (As we all know.) It works on whoever has it, corrupting the ringbearer. As people have said, it uses what's in the mind of the bearer (or even the person nearby the ring) to seduce them. Boromir saving Gondor, Sam making a garden of Mordor, etc. And I agree with that. But what I don't agree with is that it was "merely the imbued shadow of the will of Sauron", if I may quote Marileangorifurnimaluim in her original post. The Ring did have a will of its own; why would the following be said if it didn't?

"A Ring of Power looks after itself, Frodo. It may slip off treacherously, but its keeper never abandons it...It was not Gollum, Frodo, but the Ring itself that decided things. The Ring left him." -Gandalf, The Shadow of the Past, The Fellowship of the Ring

Now, I'm not saying that the will of the Ring is all-powerful. What I believe is that the will of the Ring is strong, yet too weak to force the bearer to march straight into the arms of Sauron.

But when Frodo finally came to Mount Doom, and was faced with destroying the Ring, it was the final straw. He was snapping already as a result of the wheels of fire that he envisioned, and from the hardships that he had endured on his journey. Plus the Ring didn't want to be destroyed; its will fought stronger than ever with Frodo's will. Frodo was considerably weakened, while the will of the Ring was strengthened in its desperation to not be destroyed. It was this that finally caused Frodo to give in and claim the ring for his own, not some character flaw.

[ January 01, 2002: Message edited by: Airetelluma ]